Injun Summer

Indian Summer has come at last. Two glorious days of warmth and sun lured my husband out of doors with rake and mower to complete his final yard clean up (and snap a couple quilt photos).

If you grew up in the Chicago area, Indian Summer may have a special significance to you. As kids, we looked forward to the official pronouncement of the season by the Chicago Tribune. Each year, as the autumn air became hazy with the smoky perfume of burning leaves, we’d scout the newspaper for “Injun Summer,” the classic story and cartoon by John T. McCutcheon.

This little quilt evokes Indian Summer with its autumnal colors and harvest inspired name. I call it Spinach and Squash because of the fabrics I used. The colors were inspired by early Pennsylvania German quilts.

I made this doll quilt by hand back in 1990. That was long before quick piecing methods became popular. Products like "triangles on a roll," or "easy angle rulers" weren't available to quilters yet. I used two triangle templates (1" and 3") to mark my fabric and enjoyed the slow process of sewing by hand. It seems kind of archaic now, but there is a romance to handwork, same as burning leaves on an autumn day.

Spinach and Squash Sawtooth

15" x 18"

hand pieced and hand quilted

© DJB, 1990

A Wandaful Day!

Strawberry Patch doll quilt

The yellow berry print fabric is for the back.

Thanks for all your suggestions on how to elevate my mood over the coming months. My favorites were, of course, the quilty ones: keep an inspiring quilt book nearby, purchase fabric just to bask in its color, plan a new project (that’s easy~ I’m a dreamer rather than a doer), change out light bulbs for those simulating natural light (sounds like a good excuse to invest in an Ott light), invite quilt friends over more often, and if all else fails, eat chocolate!

I had a great day recently which included several of those very suggestions:

~ My friend Wanda (Exuberant Color) came by for lunch and some sewing. She brought the lunch as well as her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

~ Wanda assembled my little Strawberry Patch doll quilt for me. It was a pleasure to watch her sew, chain stitching squares into rows, nestling finger pressed seams together as she coaxed them through the machine. I rarely saw her clip a thread; she never used a pin, yet every seam matched perfectly.

~ She brought new fabric for me to pet…

~ and helped me start my Christmas shopping by selling me several of her beautiful journal covers.

~ The final treat was a test drive of a Baby Lock Quilter’s Choice sewing machine. It had some awesome features, like automatic needle threading and thread cutting. I could operate it with the push of a button rather than a foot pedal! It might help me sew for a bit longer, but with two kids in college, I can’t warrant the expense. It's fun to dream though.

Thanks for a truly "Wandaful" day, Wanda!

Weekend Gratitudes

Need I say more?

Replique

Like me, many of you were drawn to quilt making by the unique beauty of antique quilts. Today’s reproduction fabrics give us an opportunity to duplicate our favorites. I’ve tried copying a few old quilts but feel satisfied if I manage to capture the spirit of the original.

I admire those of you who make an earnest study of antique quilts. Your knowledge of quilt and textile history is as immeasurable as your fabric stash. Your keen eyes painstakingly replicate the antiques, block by block and fabric by fabric. The results are spectacular!

This Scrappy Star quilt is a replica of one featured in “Country Living Magazine.” My friend, Mary R. (no blog, no computer for that matter) duplicated as much of the quilt as was visible in the picture, resulting in a nice crib sized version (30” x 42”). She used the pieced top as a sample in her historical quilt talk and sold the top to me after breaking up her collection.

I hand quilted it with an all-over fan design, reminiscent of old utility quilts.

Gratitudes

~ morning coffee
~ late night talks with my son
~ bloggers like Kathie, who share their passion for traditional style quilt making. Kathie provides LOTS of links to other blogs featuring antique quilts.

Attitude Adjustment

Autumn has been awfully wet. Twenty-two days of rain in October have given me sinus headaches and, dare I mention it already, SAD (seasonal affective disorder)? My brain feels sodden! Add to that the time change, and I find myself very glum indeed. Those waning hours of sunlight have a powerful effect on many of us.

My husband has noted my increased irritability. Of course, telling me that the only peace he gets is while I’m sleeping, does little to brighten my mood! As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. An attitude adjustment is in order.

Several years ago, when Sarah Ban Breathnach's books were all the rage, I made a half hearted attempt to keep a gratitude journal. The timing was all wrong and I only lasted about a week. But the exercise has merit and I’m willing to try again.

I’ve noticed several of you fostering an attitude of gratitude on your blogs. The act of focusing on simple, everyday blessings is a healthy practice. I’ve recommended it to others who suffer from depression. Now, it’s time for a dose of my own medicine.

Today I am grateful for:
~ this sunny day
~ a long phone call from an old friend
~ William home for the weekend!

I promise not to gripe and grumble too much through the dreary months ahead. As far as blogging goes, “no news” from me is probably news you wouldn’t want to hear anyway.

Wishing you sunshine!

Trick or Treat!

My kids thought this "animation" was incredibly amateurish and silly to post. I was proud of myself for getting the bloody image to move at all! KIDS!

I've Got the Power!

After weeks of futzing* with our computer and its Internet connection, the problem has been resolved…with a new power cord! I’m almost embarrassed to admit the solution was so simple, and free at that.

I don’t mean to wax philosophically about what amounted to little more than a day to day annoyance. But it just goes to show that when something lousy happens, I tend to expect the worst. I just knew we’d need to replace the modem or router, or spend big bucks on a high tech repairman. I mean who ever thinks of a problematical power cord?

All that worry was for naught. What a waste of emotional energy. We can’t get back those hours spent fiddling with connections and computer codes. Why, it was almost as time consuming as…as… time spent on the Internet itself!

*I double checked the spelling of “futz” in the dictionary and had a good laugh at the example it gave for usage:
Definition: fritter time away: to spend time frivolously.
Usage: "spends hours futzing with that computer."